Will Jennings: Clement has improved, and found a role for, every player

It was a bleak midweek for English teams in Europe - but not for Norwich City as Philippe Clement's red-hot Canaries continued to soar up the Championship table.

While Tottenham, Manchester City and Chelsea collectively crumbled in the cauldrons of Madrid and Paris, Clement's escapologists dug themselves out of a Carrow Road hole to extend this remarkable run of results under the Belgian.

Wednesday night's turnaround against Sheffield United in many respects mirrored the one against table-topping Coventry back in January, battling back from a goal behind against a decent opponent to launch a rousing second-half fightback in front of the Barclay.

And the unexpected hero?

The returning Amankwah Forson, fittingly banishing those Bramall Lane demons when his gut-wrenching miss deep in stoppage-time devastatingly denied us three precious points on the road.

Forson, 23, may have played only a handful of minutes under Clement but is another example of a fringe player perhaps previously short on confidence who now looks firmly at home in this revamped City set-up.

A sumptuous strike in the 3-1 win against QPR - perhaps the first big result where it felt like we could go somewhere under Clement - and a similarly slick left-footed finish into the same corner to blunt the Blades: the City boss appears to have instilled a newfound life into the Ghanaian despite his injury woes.

And that's a running theme throughout the squad.

So much has been said about the resurgence of Anis Ben Slimane, plus the likes of Jose Cordoba, Pelle Mattsson - pleasingly now back fit - and even Tony Springett, who has performed admirably when called upon across a multitude of different positions.

Put simply, Clement seems to have improved, and found a role for, every single player after giving all of them a clean slate since walking through the Colney door.

Yes, Clement has made tactical changes and City are much more fun to watch.

But a key part of that is undeniably ensuring he is getting the best out of all his players, earning their respect and and instilling them with the confidence - and happiness - to thrive whenever called upon.

On a week where hapless Spurs interim boss Igor Tudor has been rightly criticised for his questionable man-management skills, Clement looks the complete opposite based on everything he has done since arriving in Norfolk back in November.

That questionnaire he gave the players the very day he got down to business.

Giving every player a fresh chance regardless of what had come before.

And his brilliant management of the farcical Josh Sargent situation, banishing the petulant American to send a strong and significant message to the rest of his clearly united group.

Speaking of unity, it's been a long time since this level of togetherness has been seen at Carrow Road - not only seeping throughout the squad but also through all of us in the terraces both at home and away.

Charlton and Millwall away tickets have been snapped up en masse almost instantaneously - and it's set to be two bumper days out in London when 3,000-plus Canaries descend on the capital over the next couple of weeks.

Bizarrely, that trip to The Den falls on the very same Easter Monday date as last season when another dismal defeat spelt the end for Johannes Hoff Thorup.

Exactly one year on, and despite enduring the miserable reign of Liam Manning, how the tables have turned as Clement's exploits have got us all daring to dream once more.

While the play-offs remain a firm long shot - who knows what the state of play will be by the time that fixture rolls around in five games' time.

The Premier League’s big-hitters may be faltering in Europe - but what a time it is to be a City fan right now with an intriguing run-in in store.